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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Raising Postage?

I saw a snippet in WORLD Magazine today discussing the Post Office's plans to raise postage prices again due to a fall in usage of the postal service.

Personally I think that's rather silly. With the internet making it possible to send so much information for free, we need incentive for using snail mail, not punishment for doing so. I think it would be more effective to lower the postage rates and do an ad campaign about the fact and perhaps another one about the importance of sending physical mail and letters.

At this rate it's going to be nearly fifty cents to send a card, which makes sending out 100 grad party or wedding invitations come out to nearly fifty dollars - not counting the cost of making the actual invites! With facebook making handwritten invitations less necessary, I think higher postal service charges are going to push people on to the electronic age that much faster.

1 comment:

Each time this happens I'm reminded of Fanny Price's shock and gratitude that her uncle would frank her letter to her brother. If things continue this way, you're right, we'll end up with a new version of an old situation...only the upper classes will send mail by post, the rest will use electronic or hand delivery. Who would have thought that the internet would move us back to a more Austenian way of doing things?